Method of producing coreless toilet paper rolls and the coreless toilet paper produced thereby

ABSTRACT

A coreless toilet paper roll is produced by winding toilet paper such that the winding speed in the winding apparatus is faster than the paper feeding speed in the paper feeding-and processing apparatus, during a beginning period and final period of the toilet paper winding step, by leaving the wound toilet paper roll in place, with the winding shaft leaves projecting radially outwardly for a pre-determined time after the winding step, and thereafter, by shrinking the leaves and removing the toilet paper roll from the winding shaft. The toilet paper roll so produced has a roll body made of a wound toilet paper material, wherein a beginning layer thereof is wound tightly, and subsequent turns of paper are gradually softened from a middle layer to an outermost layer, an aperture for receiving a supporting bar of a toilet paper holder formed through the center of the roll, and further, the inner surface of the aperture is smooth without projections.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method of producing a coreless toiletpaper roll and to the coreless toilet paper roll produced thereby. Oneof the most popularly used toilet paper holders, at present, is a typewhich has a pair of side brackets for mounting a detachable supportingbar. Generally, the detachable supporting bar is a metal or plastichollow tube, in the form of a cylindrical section, having a diameter ofabout 20 to 35 mm. The most popularly used toilet paper roll is a typewhich comprises continuously wound or rolled toilet paper upon a papertube or core onto which the toilet paper has been wound, as shown inFIG. 15. Referring to FIG. 15, the paper tube core C has an innerdiameter of about 35 to 40 mm so as to permit it to be mounted to theabove mentioned holder by way of the detachable supporting bar.

There has been known a type of coreless toilet paper roll which is madeby winding toilet paper such that there is only a small center hole forreceiving a thin rigid rod to be attached to a holder, for example, therigid rod having a diameter of only about 5 to 10 mm or so. However, thepresent invention is not directed to such a type of coreless toiletpaper roll. To the contrary, the coreless toilet paper roll to which thepresent invention is directed is the more popular type of toilet paperroll, referred to above, having a center hole capable of receivingtherein the greater diameter detachable supporting bar as describedabove. The "core" of "the "coreless toilet paper roll" is merely ahollow aperture in the form of a cylindrical section extending axiallythrough the "coreless toilet paper roll", in place of theabove-mentioned paper tube core C (see FIG. 15) which is separate anddistinct from the toilet paper itself. The "core" of the "corelesstoilet paper roll" has a diameter of about 35 to 40 mm, and is formed bythe internal diametrical surface of the "coreless toilet paper roll" ofthe present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In restrooms in public places, which are used by many different people,for example in hotel lobbies, hospitals, schools, and the like, depletedtoilet paper rolls are relatively frequently exchanged for new toiletpaper rolls, for example, every morning. This task requires the use ofboth hands, in complicated manipulation, to remove the paper tube coresC of the toilet paper rolls from the holders, to thereafter dispose ofthem, thus adding discrete elements of labor. Further, the requirementto use paper tube cores requires separate additional material cost, andrequires discrete separate additional operations to set the paper tubeonto the toilet paper roll winding shaft, prior to winding the toiletpaper stock thereon, both of which increase production cost.

It is evident that labor, work steps and production costs can be reducedif paper tube cores are deleted from toilet paper rolls. Therefore, someproposals to produce coreless toilet paper rolls have been tried asfollows:

(1) For example, Japanese unexamined patent publication No.5504/1976 andJapanese unexamined utility model publication No.130292/1991 bothdisclose methods characterized by the toilet paper being directly woundon a winding shaft without a paper tube core, with the winding shafthaving a special construction for releasing the wound toilet paper roll.In particular, the winding shaft has movable leaves capable ofopening/closing radially by manipulation of air pressure, such that thetoilet paper can be wound on the winding shaft directly, while theleaves are expanded, and the wound toilet paper roll can be removed fromthe shaft by radially retracting the leaves after winding. In theprocess of winding the toilet paper on the winding shaft, after thatshaft starts to rotate, the winding speed is increased to a given ratewhere it is then maintained. Then, the winding speed is decreased at theend of the winding period, and the rotation comes to a halt when theroll is completed. During this process, the toilet paper feed speed,produced by the paper feeding-and-processing apparatus, is controlled toproduce a toilet paper feed rate which is substantially coordinated withthe winding speed of the winding shaft, so as to avoid tearing thetoilet paper stock, a material which has relatively low tensilestrength. This method, however, has a drawback; because the windingtension of the toilet paper is maintained low, the outer or trailing endof the toilet paper on the roll tends to be loose, thus causing atendency to unravel during subsequent handling. Further, during use ofthe winding shaft of that published reference, as shown in FIG. 13hereof, the toilet paper tends to become caught between the mutuallyadjacent leaves 10 due to the pressure of the winding shaft, so thataxially extending projections p are formed on the inner surface of thecenter hollow of the toilet paper roll T. In use, the projections p,tend to come into contact with the supporting bar of the toilet paperholder, thus producing an uncomfortable clattering noise as the toiletpaper is unwound. In a public restroom, this can cause substantialembarrassment, especially if the user is a young woman. Further, whenthe paper is rapidly pulled from the roll, the paper may have more of atendency to tear off, rather than to unwind.

(2) Another method of producing a coreless toilet paper roll is found inJapanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No.61049/1976. Severallayers of toilet paper, at the beginning of winding, are bonded togetheras a substitute for a paper tube core. However, since those bondedlayers cannot be used, not all of the toilet paper on the roll can beused. Therefore, this method produces a product which is relativelyuneconomical.

Among the foregoing problems, the inventors have paid special attentionto the problems, related to producing tightly wound rolls of toiletpaper, as basic problems to be solved. The inventors have energeticallyresearched the reasons why toilet paper is not conventionally tightlywound, and have found the following:

At the beginning of winding a toilet paper roll, water or awater-solution of adhesive agent is sprayed onto the paper on thewinding shaft in order to temporally fix the paper to the winding shaftor to temporally fix several paper layers together with each other. Inthis situation, the paper absorbs water and is elongated in both thelongitudinal and lateral directions. The elongation in the longitudinaldirection, in particular, is about 10% beyond the original length.Therefore, when the paper feed speed and the winding speed are mutuallycoordinated, because the end of the toilet paper being wound haselongated, the tension has been relaxed as the winding commences.Therefore, the inner-most portion of the toilet paper roll T tends to beloose after winding.

Further, near the end of the winding period, both the winding shaft andpaper feeding-and-processing apparatus are gradually decelerated andcome to halt as the winding is completed. During this deceleration, thetoilet paper tends to move at a speed which is faster than themechanical winder shaft, due to the inertia of the moving stream of thetoilet paper. Therefore, again because of the reduced tension, theoutside portion of the toilet paper roll tends to be loose.

Though the various reasons, as to why conventional toilet paper is notuniformly tightly wound into rolls, have been made clear through theresearch of the inventors, as mentioned above, it is still understood bythose skilled in the art that consumable toilet paper rolls cannot beproduced without winding the toilet paper around a paper tube C as acore, since the toilet paper has characteristics of low density, highflexibility due to crepe treatment or the like, and very low strength incomparison with, for example, newsprint or kraft paper for use inproducing corrugated cardboard. This understanding, by those skilled inthe art, is apparently based on what might be referred to as "technicalcommon sense", in view of the foregoing characteristics of toilet paper.Thus, it seems that, for several decades since the first rolls of toiletpaper appeared in the market place, no toilet paper, for use withdetachable supporting bars as described above, has been commerciallysuccessfully produced and marketed without a paper tube used as a core.

The present invention overcomes the "technical common sense" with amethod of producing a coreless toilet paper roll from which the paperwill not become unintentionally loose. In other words, the presentinvention provides a coreless toilet paper roll which does not becomeloose, which has no inside projections, and from which virtually all ofthe toilet paper can be used.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a method ofproducing a coreless toilet paper roll by providing a toilet paperwinding means comprising a paper feeding-and-processing apparatus forunwinding toilet paper stock from a wound roll made by a paper makingmachine, processing that toilet paper stock, as occasion demands, andfeeding the paper to a rewinding apparatus, and rewinding that toiletpaper stock, by way of a rewinding apparatus comprising a winding shaftonto which that toilet paper stock is wound, to form a roll shape so asto produce a coreless toilet paper roll. The winding shaft comprises atubular member with several rows of lugs, those lugs being capable ofradially extending to project outwardly from the winding shaft axis and,in converse, retracting radially inwardly to draw back from thatextended position toward the axis of the winding shaft. The windingshaft also comprises means to extend those lugs as well as means toretract those lugs. The winding shaft further comprises plural leaves,each having an arc-shaped cross section, extending in an axial directionand being fixed to the lugs of each row, and an elastic outer tubehaving a low coefficient of friction so as to produce good slideability,that elastic outer tube which covers the leaves. The toilet paperwinding process comprises winding the toilet paper such that the windingspeed in the rewinding apparatus is faster than the paper feeding speedin the paper feeding-and-processing apparatus, at both the beginning andfinal periods of the toilet paper winding step, and maintaining thefully wound toilet paper roll on the extended leaves as projectedradially outwardly, for a period of time after the roll winding has beencompleted, and thereafter retracting the leaves radially inwardlyfollowed by removing the toilet paper roll from the winding shaft.

In the present invention, even if the toilet paper elongates due towater spraying or the spraying of a water solution of adhesive agent atthe beginning of the rewinding, the elongation caused thereby can beabsorbed since, at the beginning of the rewinding process, the windingspeed of the rewinding apparatus is faster than the paper feeding speedof the paper feeding-and-processing apparatus. Therefore, the toiletpaper can be wound around the winding shaft with suitable tension fromthe very beginning. Further, though the toilet paper moves, due todynamic inertia, with a speed faster than the decelerating mechanicalapparatus, during the final period of rewinding, the over-run can beabsorbed since the rewinding speed in the rewinding apparatus is fasterthan paper feed rate produced by the paper feeding-and-processingapparatus. Therefore, the toilet paper can also be wound with suitabletension during the final period of rewinding, as the toilet paper rollwinding is completed. Further, since the leaves are left extended for apredetermined time after the rewinding step is completed, pressure isapplied to the toilet paper, and thus, the configuration of the rolltends to become more fixed in place as the tension in the rolled papergradually relaxes. Therefore, the configuration of the roll will notbecome loose for some extended period of time thereafter, thus enablingsubsequent handling.

The winding shaft of the present invention has wide contacting surfaces,since the leaves radially divide the outer surface of the winding shaftinto several sectors. Therefore, though the toilet paper is directlywound around the winding shaft without using a paper tube as a core, theinner surface of the wound toilet paper can be supported with lowcontact pressure between the toilet paper and the faces of the widecontacting surfaces of the leaves. Thus, though suitable tension isapplied during the rewinding operation, and the finished roll is leftunder compressed conditions for a predetermined time thereafter, thetoilet paper cannot be damaged. Further, since the leaves are wrapped orencompassed within an elastic outer tube, with a slidable outer surface,the paper is not pinched by the leaves, and therefore no projections areformed to extend radially inwardly from the center hollow of the roll.

Based on the above described method of production, according to thepresent invention, there is provided a toilet paper roll having a rollbody made of wound toilet paper, wherein a beginning layer is woundtightly, and subsequent turns of paper are gradually softened, beingprogressively less tightly wound, to the outermost layer. The toiletpaper roll includes an aperture, in the form of a cylindrical section,formed axially through the center of the roll, for receiving thesupporting bar of a conventional toilet paper holder, the surface ofthat aperture being smooth and without projections.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a coreless toilet paper roll whichis a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a toilet paper roll winder.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are schematic representations illustrating steps inthe winding of a toilet paper roll.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relation between time and winding speed inthe preferred embodiment of the winding method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are graphs showing relations between time and windingspeed in alternate embodiments of the winding method of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a cut-away, semi-schematic perspective view showing thepreferred embodiment of a winding shaft according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a semi-schematic sectional view of the preferred embodiment ofthe winding shaft of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a semi-schematic sectional view showing the preferredembodiment of the winding shaft of the present invention with the leavesextended.

FIG. 11 is a semi-schematic sectional view showing the preferredembodiment of the winding shaft of the present invention with the leavesretracted.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating a typical conventional toiletpaper winder including both the paper feeding-and-processing apparatus Aand the rewinding apparatus B.

FIG. 13 is a sectional, semi-schematic view illustrating a windingoperation using a known winding shaft;

FIG. 14 is a view of a known toilet paper roll illustrating one of theproblems which results from the use of the winding shaft shown in FIG.13.

FIG. 15 is a semi-schematic perspective view showing a typicalconventional toilet paper roll having a separate and distinct paper tubecore.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are explained withreference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 13, there is shown a knowntoilet paper winder shaft which has been proposed for winding corelesstoilet paper rolls, and an illustration of the problem created by theuse thereof is shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 15 shows a conventional toiletpaper roll having a paper tube core. Thus, FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 do notillustrate embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 12, the mechanisms of the toilet paper winder can begenerally divided into a paper feeding-and-processing apparatus A and arewinding apparatus B. The paper feeding-and-processing apparatus Aincludes means for unwinding toilet paper stock P from a wound stockroll R, which is typically a roll of 1,000 to 1,500 mm in diameter, asproduced by a paper making machine, as well as means for both processingthe paper, as occasion demands, and for feeding the paper to therewinding apparatus, indicated by numerals 20 through 22. The processingof paper, as occasion demands, as applied by the means for processing ofthe paper feeding-and-processing apparatus A, include the enablement ofvarious kinds of processes, such as, for example, embossment processing,notching or perforation processing and crepe treatment processing. Suchprocessing means are suitably included into in the paperfeeding-and-processing apparatus A for application as occasion demands.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, a notching mechanism comprises aroller 20 and a cutter 21. Numeral 22 indicates guide rollers.

Rewinding apparatus B comprises means for rewinding toilet paper stock Pon winding shaft 1 in order to produce a coreless toilet paper roll. Indrawing FIG. 12, only the functional elements are shown. That is to say,rewinding apparatus B comprises driving rollers 2 and 3, riding roller 4and nip roller 5. In rewinding apparatus B, as shown in FIG. 12, byrotating the driving rollers 2 and 3, toilet paper stock P, being fed torewinding apparatus B by paper feeding-and-processing apparatus A, iswound onto winding shaft 1, and the developing toilet paper roll T isurged against winding shaft 1 by driving roller 3 and riding roller 4.

FIG. 2 shows the beginning state of the winding of toilet paper stock Pin rewinding apparatus B in somewhat more detail than is shown in FIG.12. Wound roll R (see FIG. 12), after paper making, is typically 1,000to 2,000 mm in width and is typically fed to rewinding apparatus B withthe original width remaining. However, the wide paper is cut with rotaryslitter 6, preferably into 113 mm widths as determined by JIS standardand to enable the toilet paper roll to be readily fitted into a standardtoilet paper holder. Numeral 7 indicates a receiving stand for receivingtoilet paper rolls after the winding thereof is completed, and numeral 8indicates a knife for cutting the tail end of the fully wound toiletpaper roll in the direction of its width. After the toilet paper rollTO, of which winding has been previously completed, is put on receivingstand 7, paper stock P is cut with knife 8, and the portion shown by abroken line of paper stock P is wound on winding roll 1 as shown by asolid line. Then, preferably water W, used for temporarily fixing paperstock P to winding roll 1, is sprayed onto the initial portion of paperstock P which is wound onto winding roll 1. (Water W is preferred as thecost of additional adhesive is eliminated and the use of all of thetoilet paper on the roll is enabled.) Following this, riding roller 4comes into contact with paper stock P, and driving rollers 2 and 3 beginto rotate. Since paper stock P is temporarily fixed to the winding shaft1 and also to another layer of paper stock P, paper stock P is caused towind, layer upon layer, as driving rollers 2 and 3 are rotated, and thusthe diameter of the roll becomes gradually larger. The period duringwhich preferably water is sprayed is referred to as the beginning periodof winding. During the beginning period, either the whole of thebeginning period or just part of it, the winding speed may beaccelerated.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the diameter of the roll of toilet paper stockP is increased to a certain extent, the operation commences a middleperiod of winding where the rotational speed of the winding shaft 1 ispreferably maintained constant, although acceleration and ordeceleration may be employed during the middle period as illustrated inFIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 4, when the roll diameter D further increasesand approaches the final desired diameter (which is preferablydetermined to be a maximum of 120 mm both to meet JIS standards and toenable the roll to be readily fitted into a standard toilet paper holderas described above), the operation shifts to a final period of windingwhere winding speed is decelerated, and winding is finally halted. InFIG. 4, marks d1, d2 and d3, respectively, show the beginning period,the middle period and the final period of winding, all of which togethercomprise a single winding cycle of the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

The changes of the feeding speed Sa and the paper winding speed Sb inone winding cycle, as mentioned above, are indicated in FIG. 5. In FIG.5, Sp indicates winding speed velocity, and Tm indicates winding time.As shown in FIG. 5, the winding speed Sb in the rewinding apparatus B isfaster than the paper feeding speed Sa from the paperfeeding-and-processing apparatus A for the beginning period d1 and thefinal period d3, and the winding speed Sb and the paper feeding speed Saare equivalent during the middle period d2.

According to the above described winding method and again referring toFIG. 5, during the beginning winding period d1, since the paper windingspeed Sb is faster than the feeding speed Sa, elongation of the toiletpaper stock P, caused by the sprayed water, can be absorbed, andfurther, paper stock P is thus wound with suitable tension. Therefore,paper stock P can be tightly wound during the beginning period d1.During the middle winding period d2, since the winding speed Sb isequivalent to the paper feed speed Sa, the tension of the windinggradually decreases. Therefore, the paper is wound more softly (lesstightly). During the final winding period d3, though the winding speedSb is faster than the paper feeding speed Sa, the tension continues todecrease and the paper continues to be wound softly, because the dynamicinertia of paper stock P operates in the direction in which paper stockP is being fed, during the final winding period, to over-ride thewinding speed Sb during that final period. As a result, the toilet paperroll obtained has a tightly wound portion for the beginning period d1and a gradually softened wound portion from the middle winding periodlayer through the outermost layer. However, by winding the toilet paperroll T as described, the paper stock P is still wound sufficientlytightly enough to substantially diminish the possibility of looseningduring subsequent handling. Further, since the water sprayed during thebeginning period will evaporate before the winding of the toilet paperroll T is completed, the paper stock P which was wound during thebeginning period can be readily unwound, as intended, so that virtuallyall of the paper stock P of the toilet paper roll T can be used.

The above mentioned speed difference Sd1 and Sd2, between the windingspeed Sb and the paper feeding speed Sa, can be calculated from, forexample, the ratio of the elongation of the paper due to water spray,the ratio of deceleration due to dynamic inertia and the speeddifference required for suitable tension. In general, the speeddifference is about 10%; however, the difference can, of course, belower or higher than 10%, depending, for example, on the constructionand performance features of the particular rewinding apparatus B whichis used and the quality of the paper.

The beginning winding period d1, where the winding speed Sa is fasterthan the paper feeding speed Sb, corresponds to the acceleration rangein the embodiment shown in FIG. 5. The beginning winding period d1 forthe embodiment show in FIG. 6, however, terminates before the actualacceleration range is completed, thus that beginning winding period d1of FIG. 6 comprises only a portion of the acceleration range. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 7, the beginning winding period d1 extendsbeyond the acceleration range, thus the acceleration is concluded andthe constant speed range has commenced before the beginning windingperiod d1 has ended. In similar manner, the final winding period d3 canbe only a portion of the deceleration range or the final winding periodd3 can commence prior to the commencement of the deceleration range,with that final winding period d3 starting during the last portion ofthe constant speed range.

In the present invention, fine control of the paper stock P may beperformed so as to finely adjust and thus optimize the paper windingtension. For example, when paper stock P is wound under tension, drivingroll 2 rotates at a rate of about 0.2% above the paper feed speed asproduced by the paper feeding-and-processing apparatus A, while drivingroll 3 rotates at a rate of about 0.3% above the paper feed speed, andriding roll 4 rotates at a rate of about 0.4% above that paper feedspeed. Accordingly, in the case where the paper feed speed Sa is 1.00(as fed by the paper feeding-and-processing apparatus A), the resultingcorresponding speed ratios become as set forth in the following table:

                  TABLE                                                           ______________________________________                                                         Beginning Middle    Final                                    Element:         Period    Period    Period                                   ______________________________________                                        Driving Roller 2 1.12      1.02      1.12                                     Driving Roller 3 1.13      1.03      1.13                                     Riding Roller 4  1.14      1.04      1.14                                     Paper Feeding-and-                                                                             1.00      1.00      1.00                                     Processing Apparatus A                                                        ______________________________________                                    

Hereinafter, details of winding shaft 1 used in the rewinding apparatusB will be explained. FIG. 8 is a partially broken perspective view ofthe preferred embodiment of the winding shaft 1 of the presentinvention, and FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of that windingshaft 1.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, 1a denotes a tubular member of the winding shaft.Tubular member 1a is a rigid metal tube. Tubular member 1a has, at bothends, bearing supports 16 for supporting the winding shaft 1 duringwinding operations. An elastomeric tube 17, preferably made of rubber orpolyurethane, is inserted into tubular member 1a, and air can be fed inand exhausted from the elastomeric tube 17 through an air vent 15provided at a first end of the winding shaft 1. The elastomeric tube 17is closed at the other, second end to which the air vent 15 is notconnected, and therefore, the elastomeric tube 17 is inflated radiallyas air is supplied, and is correspondingly deflated as air is exhausted.

Tubular member 1a has elongated apertures 14 circumferentially spacedapart preferably at 120°, with several sets of circumferentiallyspaced-apart apertures 14 being axially spaced apart along the length oftubular member 1a as best indicated in FIG. 8. A lug 12 is inserted ineach elongated aperture 14 such that each such lug 12 can slideablyextend and retract in a radial direction through its correspondingelongated aperture 14. A leg member 18 having an arc-shaped crosssection and extending in the axial direction of winding shaft 1 is fixedto the lower end of each lug 12, and each leg member 18 is situatedbetween the inside surface of the tubular member 1a and the outsidesurface of the elastomeric tube 17 as shown in FIG. 8. As used herein,the term "row" means a group of elongated apertures 14 or lugs 12aligned in the axial direction in respect to tubular member 1a. Theembodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 has three rows, and is preferablysized such that each row has ten elongated apertures 14 and tencorresponding lugs 12.

Further, each lug 12 has a leaf 10 fixed thereto. The leaf 10 ispreferably made of Duralumin® aluminum alloy, although other materialscould be used. The leaf 10 might be formed with one or more lugs 12 as asingle body, or a separable leaf might be fixed to each lug 12, forexample, by fastening with bolts or screws. The leaf 10 has anarc-shaped cross section and extends in the axial direction. Thus, byfixing the leaves 12 on all of rows of the lugs 12, the outside surfaceof the tubular member 1a is substantially covered with leaves 10, withthe exception of small gaps between adjacent leaves 10. Thecircumferential outline formed by the leaves 10 is substantially acomplete circle broken only by the small gaps between adjacent leaves10.

Preferably there is a single leaf 10 fixed to all of the lugs 12 whichare aligned in a single row. Also preferably the lugs 12 and leaves 10are arranged as three rows in the preferred embodiment, however tworows, or four or more rows may be employed. Further, the number ofelongated apertures 14 in a row might be greater or less than ten.Further, a single leaf 10 may be fixed to each lug 12, or the leaves 10can be divided into two or more pieces in the axial direction,especially if the winding shaft 1 is long, thus two or more axiallyaligned leaves 10, fixed to correspondingly positioned lugs 12 in eachrow, can be utilized.

The leaves 10 are all covered with an outer tube 11 so as to wrap orencase the leaves 10. The outer tube 11 is suitably elastomeric, i.e.,it can be radially expanded and collapsed within its limits ofelasticity, and the surface thereof should preferably have a lowcoefficient of friction in respect to paper stock P. In other words, theouter surface of outer tube 11 preferably has good slideability toenhance and enable toilet paper roll T being remove therefrom. Forexample, a polyurethane resin tube may be suitably employed.

In the above described embodiment, the leaves 10 are expanded radiallyas shown in FIG. 10, when air is supplied into the elastomeric tube 17through the air vent 15, and the leaves 10 are closed radially as shownin FIG. 11, when air is exhausted from elastomeric tube 17 through airvent 15. It should be noted that other gases, e.g., nitrogen, can beused instead of air.

When a toilet paper roll T is wound on the winding shaft 1 of thepreferred embodiment, with the above described construction as shown inFIGS. 8 through 11, the toilet paper roll T is wound while winding shaft1 is in such a state that the three leaves 10 are expanded radially asshown in FIG. 10. In this case, an outer tube 11 exists on the outersurface of the three leaves 10, those three leaves 10 which have analmost correct circular profile in the expanded position. Since theinner surface of the toilet paper role T is substantially wholly incontact with the outer surface of the outer tube 11, the toilet paperroll T can be wound without a paper tube core. When the winding shaft 1is used, no axial projection are formed on the inner surface of thehollow h of the toilet paper roll T, since the paper stock P is notpushed and cramped into the gaps d, due to the gaps d being covered andthus blocked by outer tube 11. The gaps d between adjacent leaves 10 areclosed, with the adjacent leaves 10 coming closer together, as theleaves 10 are retracted.

After the winding operation has concluded, the leaves 10 are maintainedin the radially extended position, as shown in FIG. 10, for apre-determined period, for example, as much as 10 to 20 minutes or more.During that period, referred to as the "roll shape development period",the toilet paper roll T is subjected to pressure, and therefore, itbecomes fixed in shape and size, i.e., due to a gradual relaxation ofthe stress imparted to the paper stock P during winding, the toiletpaper roll T becomes capable of maintaining its shape without adhesive,external pressure or packaging for an extended period of time, thusenabling easy subsequent handling.

After the roll shape development period, air is exhausted through airvent 15 to retract or close the leaves 10 to the position shown in FIG.11. Then, since some gap C, as shown in FIG. 11, is produced between theinner surface of the wound toilet paper roll T and the outer tube 11,the toilet paper roll T can be readily slipped off of an end of windingshaft 1 over bearing support 16. Since the outer tube 11 has goodslideability, such slipping-off is easily accomplished, and thussnagging of the inner surface of toilet paper roll T is avoided, suchsnagging which might cause paper stock P to loosen unintentionally.

FIG. 1 shows a coreless toilet paper roll T according to the presentinvention, which is obtained through practice of the above describedmethod. As shown in FIG. 1, no paper tube core is used in the corelesstoilet paper roll T, and the roll body is made by merely winding rawpaper b for toilet paper use. An aperture h, sized to enable the easyinsertion of the supporting bar of a conventional toilet paper holder,is formed to axially extend through the center of the roll body.

The toilet paper T can be rendered usable by setting the dimensions tocorrespond to the most popular toilet paper holders, thus enabling theinsertion of a detachable supporting bar through the center aperture hand the fitting of the roll to the holder. When all the toilet paper isspent, the toilet paper holder can be refilled by merely mounting a newtoilet paper roll T onto the supporting bar, without the need ofcomplicated hand manipulation to remove that support bar with a papertube core over it, since there is no paper tube core left on thesupporting bar. Therefore, there is no problem in removing, collectingand disposing of paper tube cores as is required in the use ofconventional toilet paper rolls as shown in FIG. 15. Further, for thetoilet paper roll of the present invention, all of the toilet paper canbe used to the last, since the paper is merely wound with water, andpreferably without the use of any additional adhesive agent dissolved inthat water. Finally, when the toilet paper roll of the present inventionis used, rotation of the roll does not create any uncomfortable noisewhich might create embarrassment, as there is nothing projecting fromthe inner surface of that toilet paper roll which can cause clatter ornoise as the toilet paper roll is rotated to dispense the toilet paper.

Any known material for the toilet paper can be used for the material ofthe toilet paper roll of the present invention. For example, variouspaper materials made from crushed wood pulp, bleached chemical pulp, oldpaper pulp, and the like can be employed, and further, crepe processedpaper or embossed paper also can be employed.

Industrial Applicability

According to the present invention, a coreless toilet paper roll withoutany inside axially extending projections can be produced, and the toiletpaper roll is capable of holding its own form for an extended periodafter it has been wound.

Further, the coreless toilet paper roll does not require any complicatedhand manipulation to remove the supporting bar from the toilet paperholder, due to a paper tube core, nor any work related to the collectionand disposal of such paper tube cores as may be the case in hotels orthe like, and the toilet paper on the roll can be used to the lastwithout creating embarrassment. Further, the cost of separate paper tubecores is eliminated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of producing a coreless toilet paperroll comprising:a) feeding toilet paper stock from a toilet paper stockroll to means for feeding and processing said toilet paper stock; b)feeding said toilet paper stock from said means for feeding andprocessing to means for rewinding said toilet paper stock, said meansfor rewinding which comprises winding shaft means for winding toiletpaper stock and imparting pressure thereto; c) temporarily fixing a leadend of said toilet paper stock directly to said winding shaft means;then d) engaging said winding shaft means to commence winding saidtoilet paper stock onto said winding shaft means by rotation of saidwinding shaft means such that the speed of winding of said toilet paperis greater than the speed of feeding said toilet paper stock to saidmeans for rewinding during a beginning winding period; then e)conforming said speed of winding of said feeding of said toilet paperstock to said rewinding means during a middle winding period; then f)controlling said winding shaft means such that the speed of winding ofsaid toilet paper is greater than the speed of feeding said toilet paperstock to said means for rewinding during a final winding period tocomplete the winding of said coreless toilet paper roll; then g)maintaining said completely wound coreless toilet paper roll on saidwinding shaft means, under pressure imparted by said winding shaftmeans, for a pre-determined period of time; then h) relaxing saidpressure imparted by said winding shaft means; and then i) removing saidcoreless toilet paper roll from said winding shaft means.